• Take a bigger sized microwave safe ceramic mug. This cake doubles in size. So use a big mug.


• Add in the dry ingredients like maida, powdered sugar, baking soda, baking powder and mix well. Now add the wet ingredients like cooking oil, milk, butterscotch essence and yellow food color.


• Mix well to make a thick batter that flows like a ribbon as shown in the picture. Take the mug and keep it inside the microwave oven.


• Set the power to 800W and time to 1 minute. Batter doubles in size while cooking. Insert a toothpick and check if it comes out clean else cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more.


• Remove the mug and keep it for few minutes. Decorate with sprinklers and enjoy.

• Adjust the time as per the power of your microwave.
• For me, it took 2 minutes to bake.
• Do not skip any of the above said ingredients.

• Wash and peel the skin of Radish / Mullangi. Slice into thin roundels. Wash and peel small onion, garlic cloves. Set aside.


• Heat oil in a kadai. Saute onion, tomato till mushy. Take them in a mixie jar. Add grated coconut, fennel seeds and grind everything to a smooth paste. Set aside.


• Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Add cinnamon and bay leaf. Saute onion, garlic cloves and Radish slices. Saute for a minute.


• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Add the ground tomato paste, salt and mix well. Saute for a minute. Add required water and pressure cook everything for one whistle in low flame.


• Open the cooker after the steam is released naturally. When you open the cooker, radish will be cooked well and you can see a layer of oil floating on top of gravy. Check the consistency and add more water, boil for a minute and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with plain rice. Enjoy !

• Adjust the quantity of spice powders as per your taste.
• You can skip fennel seeds while sauting onion garlic.
• Use small onions for best taste and flavor.
• Saute Radish along with onion and garlic. It helps to reduce the raw smell of Radish while cooking.

• Wash and pressure cook potato, carrot and green peas. Peel the skin of potato and take in a bowl.


• Add boiled carrot, boiled green peas to the potato. Add spice powders, chopped onion, green chilli, coriander leaves, ginger garlic paste, cashews, tomato sauce and salt.


• Mash everything well and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, 2 tbsp rice flour to make a non-sticky dough.


• Make Maida paste adding some water and keep in a bowl. Keep the bread crumbs ready in another bowl.

• Take the cutlet dough. Make round, heart or oblong shapes. Arrange in a plate. Dip in Maida paste and then in bread crumbs. Arrange in a plate.
•  
• To shallow fry the cutlet, heat a dosa pan with oil. Place 3 or 4 cutlets and cook them in medium flame till it turns golden brown. Flip and cook the other side too. Try to hold the cutlet with a tong and cook the corners. Remove in a plate.


• To deep fry the cutlet, heat oil in a kadai to immerse the cutlet. Place one cutlet and cook in medium flame till it turns golden in one side. Flip and cook the other side as well. Cutlet looks crispy and golden in color after its cooked well. Remove in a tissue and serve hot with tomato sauce or ketchup. I personally felt, deep fried ones are better and loved by kids.


• For calorie conscious people, you can go for shallow fried or Air fried cutlets. This cutlet stays good for one day.
  
  

• If you want to make it for parties in advance, you can make the cutlet masala, roll and shape it. Dip in Maida paste and bread crumbs.  Keep it in a covered tray or in a Ziplock bag and place in a refrigerator. Before frying, dip in bread crumbs again and fry it.
• Adjust the quantity of masala powders as per your taste.

• Heat a kadai and dry roast the sesame seeds till it splutters. Collect in a plate. Let it cool down.


• In the same kadai, heat oil. Splutter Cumin seeds. Switch off the flame and add red chilli powder, salt and mix well in the heat of the oil.


• Take the cooled sesame seeds in a mixie jar. Add the roasted chilli powder, salt, jaggery and raw garlic cloves to the mixie jar.


• Grind everything to a powder. Check for taste and cool down completely. Store in a box and enjoy with plain rice, idli and dosa.

• Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per your taste.
• You can use black or white sesame seeds.

• Wash and peel the skin of bottle gourd. Chop into cubes. Set aside.


• Grind all the ingredients given under “ To grind “ to a smooth paste.


• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add in cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and add bay leaf. Saute onion, green chilli, tomato, ginger, garlic and cook till tomato turns mushy.


• Now add the chopped bottle gourd pieces and mix well. Add turmeric powder, dhania powder, chilli powder and salt. Add the ground coconut paste along with required water. Mix well.


• Close the cooker and cook in high flame till steam releases from the nozzle. Now put the weight valve as soon as steam comes out. Lower the flame completely and cook for one whistle in low flame. Switch off the flame.


• Once the pressure releases, open the cooker. You can see a layer of oil floating. Mix well and check for the consistency. If the gravy is thin and watery, boil for few minutes till it reaches kuzhambu consistency.
• If the gravy is too thick, add little more water and boil for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice.
  Enjoy !

• Adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.
• Do not add more water in the cooker because bottle gourd is a water vegetable. So it leaves water while cooking.

• Wash and slice the ginger thinly. Wash and cut onion into small cubes.


• Heat oil in a kadai. Saute urad dal, chana dal, red chilli, coriander seeds till dals turn golden brown in color.


• Add the onion, ginger slices and saute till onion turns transparent. Switch off the flame and cool down.


• Add tamarind, jaggery, salt and grind everything to a smooth, thick paste.


• Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and add to chutney. Serve with idli, dosa.

Enjoy !

• Adjust the quantity of chilli as per your taste.
• Do not add more ginger because chutney may taste bitter.

• Wash the dates and soak in hot water for one to two hours till it becomes soft.


• Drain the water and mash the dates to a pulp using a steel masher or potato masher. Sieve it through a cheese cloth or muslin cloth. I used a plastic sieve with fine mesh.


• Mix the extracted pulp to the drained water and boil everything until thick and saucy like honey. Boil in low flame for 10 to 12 minutes to reach this consistency.


• Switch off the flame. Cool down and store in a glass jar in refrigerator. You can mix in plain milk, spread in bread/ dosa/ pancake or use as a natural sweetener in sweets and desserts.

Enjoy !

• Mejdool dates works the best as its soft. But I used Lion brand dates.
• Color of the syrup varies as per the quality of dates.
• If you are using dried dates, soak it overnight in hot water and then proceed.

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and hing.

• Lower the flame completely and add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and sambar powder. Mix quickly.

  

• Add chopped onion, vegetables and saute quickly. Add washed toor dal, salt, jaggery and required water. Lastly add one whole tomato. Do not cut the tomato because it will prevent the dal turning mushy.

• Pressure cook in low flame for one to two whistles. Open the lid after the steam is released. Mash the dal first and then the tomato. Mix everything together.


• Boil for few minutes if the sambar is watery. If its too thick, add little water to adjust the consistency. Lastly garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and a tsp of ghee. Serve with hot idli, dosa and pongal. Enjoy !

• Adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.
• You can use moong dal instead of toor dal.
• You can dilute 1 tsp of besan flour in 1/4 cup water and add to pressure cooker along with dal.
• Make sure you don’t burn the masala powders. It will spoil the taste of sambar. So keep the flame low or switch off the flame after tempering and then add the spice powders.

• Wash and peel the skin of Ash gourd. Remove the seeds and flush part in the middle. Chop into cubes and set aside.


• Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing.


• Lower the flame completely. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt. Mix quickly without burning.


• Add the chopped ash gourd pieces. Mix quickly to coat the masala in low flame. Cover cook with lid till ash gourd is cooked soft but make sure it retains its shape.


• Switch off the flame. Add grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve with sambar rice, curd rice, mix with plain rice and roti. 
• 

• You can use the same method and make poriyal with chow chow, knol khol, yellow pumpkin.
• For variations, you can use plain red chilli powder instead of sambar powder.
• Use coconut oil for nice flavour.

• Wash and peel the ridges and remove it. Peel the skin and chop it. Set aside. You can use the flesh to make poriyal / kootu with it.


• Heat oil in a kadai. Roast urad dal, red chilli, hing for a minute. Add onions and saute till its transparent. Add the chopped ridge gourd peel and saute till it shrinks in quantity. Switch off the flame. Add salt, tamarind, coconut and mix well. Cool down.


• Grind everything to a smooth and thick chutney. Heat oil and temper mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing and add to chutney. Mix well.


• Serve with plain rice adding ghee or sesame oil. Enjoy with papad / Appalam.

• You can skip onion but it adds a great taste and flavor to the chutney.
• Adding coconut is optional.
• For variations, you can add a pinch of jaggery while grinding the chutney.
• For bright green color, add a pinch of turmeric powder. 

• Wash and peel the skin of Raw banana. Chop into big cubes. Keep in water till use.
• Take the chopped raw banana cubes and steam if for 5 minutes in an idli pot or keep it in a vessel inside a pressure cooker. Steam cook for one whistle in high flame. Make sure raw banana pieces turns soft but firm in shape. This step is completely optional. But I did it as I wanted my raw banana pieces to be cooked well to avoid Gas trouble and stomach irritation.  


• Take the steamed raw banana pieces. Heat 3 tbsp oil and drop few banana pieces. Shallow fry both the sides till golden and slightly crispy.


• Remove in a plate. Repeat the same in batches. Fry all the raw banana pieces and set aside.


• Grind the ingredients given under “For masala” to a coarse paste without adding water. Set aside.


• Heat the remaining oil the kadai after shallow frying. Splutter mustard seeds, fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add finely chopped onion and saute till transparent.
• Add the ground masala and mix well. Add little water and boil in low flame till thick. Masala boils and leaves the raw smell too. It becomes thick and starts to leave oil in the sides.


• Lastly add the fried raw banana pieces and mix gently to coat well. Roast in low flame for few minutes. Switch off the flame once the poriyal starts to leave nice smell. Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with rice, sambar, rasam and curd rice.


Enjoy !

• To make it more spicy, add one finely chopped green chilli along with onion and saute it.
• Adjust the quantity of oil. You can also fry the raw banana pieces in little oil in dosa tawa.
• Do not skip fennel seeds.

• Wash the palak leaves and chop roughly. Set aside.


• Heat oil in a kadai. Saute  cumin seeds, onion, green chilli, garlic and tomato. Saute till tomato turns mushy.




• Now add the washed palak leaves, turmeric powder, a pinch of sugar and saute till it shrinks in quantity. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.


• Grind to a smooth paste adding required water and salt. Temper mustard seeds, vadagam (optional), curry leaves, red chilli and hing.


• Add to the masiyal and mix well. Serve with hot rice adding ghee. Enjoy.

• You can use arai keerai , mulai keerai / Amaranthus instead of palak leaves.
• For variations, use red chilli instead of green chilli.
• Addition of turmeric powder and sugar helps to get bright green color. 

 

• In a wide bowl, sieve the rice flour and besan flour. You can use roasted gram dal flour instead of besan flour. Add Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt and sesame seeds to it. Mix well and set aside.


• In a mixie jar, take the garlic cloves without skin and add a handful of above said mixed rice flour to the garlic cloves. Grind well to a smooth powder. ( Tip : Adding rice flour to the garlic cloves helps in even grinding of garlic pieces without any grits. I got this tip from “Happy homemaker – Tamil YouTube channel video”. Thanks Jaya for this nice tip. 


• Add this ground garlic powder to the rice flour and mix well. Lastly add the melted butter and spread it well with your hands. Try to hold little quantity of flour after mixing. You should be able to hold the shape but it should crumble when you drop it. This shows fat content is enough for the dough.


• Take the ribbon pakoda mould along with the murukku press. Grease with oil and fill the dough. Heat oil to deep fry and check the oil temperature by dropping a pinch of dough. If it rises to the top immediately, oil temperature is just right.


• Now lower the flame to medium. Hold the murukku press over the hot oil and squeeze it in a circular manner to make ribbon pakoda. Cook till bubbles cease in one side. Flip over and cook the other side till bubbles cease and turns golden in color.


• Remove and drain in a tissue paper. Break the ribbon pakoda into pieces and store in an air tight box. It stays good for a month.


Enjoy !

• For variations, you can use roasted gram dal instead of besan flour.
• You can use 2 tbsp of hot oil instead of butter.
• Deep fry ribbon pakoda till the bubbles and Sshh sound ceases.
• Store in the box after it comes to room temperature. Do not store when hot because it will sweat and becomes soggy.

• Wash the urad dal and take in a pressure cooker. Add 1 cup of water and pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.


• Open the cooker after the steam is released. Drain the excess water if any and grind the urad dal to smooth paste like butter. You can add little water while grinding if needed.


• In a wide bowl, sieve the rice flour. Crush cumin seeds slightly and add to the rice flour. Add salt, hing and melted butter. Mix well.


• Add urad dal paste and mix well till crumbly. Add little water to make a smooth, non sticky dough. Cover the dough with a wet cloth till use.


• Take the murukku press with 3 or 5 holes mould. Fill the murukku press with the dough. Squeeze and shape murukku in the back of ladle.
•  
• Heat oil to deep fry. Drop a pinch of dough to check oil temperature. If it rises to the top immediately, drop 2 to 3 murukku and fry both the sides in medium flame till bubbles cease and murukku settles down in the bottom of oil. Make sure you cook in medium flame to make white colored murukku. Cooking in high flame makes the murukku golden brown in color. If the oil is too hot, switch off the flame. Bring it to correct temperature and then proceed frying.
•  
• Remove the murukku and drain excess oil in a tissue paper. Store in an air tight box after it cools down. Stays good for 2 weeks. Enjoy !

• I used 1 cup of water for 1/2 cup of urad dal for pressure cooking.
• I also used around 1/4 cup of water while grinding urad dal to smooth paste. So please adjust this quantity based on the need.
• Do not fry this murukku in high flame because color changes to golden brown. Always cook in low to medium flame.

• Wash and peel the skin of chayote/ chow chow and chop into cubes. Set aside.


• In a kadai, dry roast coriander seeds, red chilli, cumin seeds, pepper, cinnamon and cloves. Remove and grind to a coarse powder adding grated coconut. Add chopped tomato and grind to a smooth paste adding required water. Set aside.

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal , hing, curry leaves. Add finely chopped onion and saute till transparent.

• Add chopped chow chow pieces. Saute for a minute. Add the ground masala paste and saute for few minutes. Add required water, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and check for taste. If required, add salt and red chilli powder.

• Close the lid and pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Switch off the flame. Open the cooker once the pressure releases naturally.


• Once you open the cooker, you can see a layer of oil floating on top. Check for consistency. Add water if its too thick. If its watery, boil for few minutes till you get desired consistency. Lastly garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rice. If you are serving for chapathi, make this kuzhambu thick like kurma and serve it.

Enjoy !

            
• Add more red chillies while roasting for spicy taste.
• Adjust the consistency of this gravy as per your requirement. If you are serving for rice, idli, dosa, make it semi thick. If its for chapathi, make it thick.

• In a bowl, take the kattuyanam rice and wash it thrice or several times till the water runs clear. Add urad dal and fenugreek seeds and wash everything once.


• Add enough water and soak them for 5 hours. Alternatively you can soak the rice separately and soak the urad dal + fenugreek seeds separately.


• After soaking, grind everything to a smooth paste adding required water. Do not grind it too thick or watery. Its consistency should be like our regular idli dosa batter. But the color of this batter would be slightly reddish. Transfer the batter to a vessel and cover it.


• Ferment the batter and leave it over night or for 12 hours based on the weather in your place. The next morning, take the batter. It would have raised well. Add required salt and mix well.


• Boil water in an idli pot. Grease idli plate with sesame oil. Pour the batter and place in idli pot. Steam it for 15 minutes.


• Remove the idli plate and rest for few minutes. Now remove the idli using a small ladle. Serve with chutney and sambar.

Enjoy !

• I have not used idli rice in this recipe. If you want to use, add 1/2 cup of rice for this measure.
• The ratio of rice and dal is 4:1. You can use 5:1 ratio too.
• Do not skip methi seeds as it gives a nice flavor for this idli.
• You can use and store this batter for 2 to 3 days.

• Wash and take the rice in a pressure cooker. Add water, a pinch of salt and cook in low flame for one whistle. Alternately you can cook the rice in open pot too.

• Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Make sure rice is not over cooked and mushy. Rice should be cooked but its should retain its shape.

• Open the cooker after the steam is released. Mash it gently. Melt jaggery adding water and strain the syrup. Add to the cooked rice.

• Add grated coconut, mix well. Boil for few minutes. When it starts to thicken, add ghee at regular intervals till the payasam becomes creamy and saucy. Switch off the flame and let it rest. 

• In the mean time, roast cashews, coconut pieces till golden and add to payasam. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and mix well.
•  

• Serve hot or warm as you like. Enjoy ! This payasam looks like sweet Pongal once its cold. So you can serve as such or add little coconut milk or warm milk to adjust the consistency.

• Adjust the quantity of jaggery as per your taste buds. Traditionally 1:2 of rice and jaggery is used.
• You can add thin coconut milk instead of grated coconut, let it boil and finally add thick coconut milk before switching off the flame.

• Take the drumstick leaves bunch and seperate the leaves from the stalk.
• Discard the yellow and wilted leaves. Remove the small stalks as well.


• Now wash the leaves and drain the water completely. Spread the leaves in a cotton cloth and leave it dry under the shade for 2 days. For instant version, dry it for 2 hours and then dry roast in hot kadai for few minutes till it turns crispy. Switch off the flame and let the leaves be in hot kadai for sometime.


• Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a kadai. Roast urad dal till golden with nice flavour. Transfer to a plate. Similarly roast the chana dal till nice and crispy. Transfer to the dal plate.
• Now add 1/2 tsp oil and roast the red chilli till crispy. Remove and transfer to the plate.


• Dry roast sesame seeds and coriander seeds till sesame seeds splutters. Add to the plate. Let everything cool down. 


• Firstly grind the red chilli, salt to a coarse powder and then grind the dals and seeds. It gives a nice color to the podi. Lastly add the moringa leaves and turmeric powder, grind it smooth. Transfer to a box and store it. Use up to a month.

Enjoy !

• Adjust the quantity of moringa leaves as per your taste.
• Alter the quantity of red chilli as per your taste.